1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to compensating for electrostatic discharge (ESD) accumulated at external pads.
2. Background Art
Chips are coupled to other chips via external pads. The external pads develop ESD over time. If this ESD current flows into the chip, one or more devices within the chip can be damaged. In particular, n-type transistors (e.g., n-type metal oxide silicon (NMOS) field effect transistors) are typically more susceptible than other devices to being damaged if they are directly connected to the pad.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method that protects devices on a chip from being damaged by ESD current flowing into the chip from an external pad.